HI. I'm back. Everyone who reviewed gets the brownie of their choice! Their chocolicious!

Disclaimer: I DISCLAIM the Teen Titans...

Chapter 2 :Irony's a Bitch:

The world was on fire. It was one huge bomb that just kept exploding, over and over and over with no relief in sight. She could not stand anymore. Her knees buckled and she hit the floor, hardly knowing it. It was just too much.

"Starfire!"

Raven's eyes snapped from Starfire's agonized form to Robin who was sprinting toward her. Her eyes wide, Raven quickly mumbled her mantra and opened a small portal under her. She knew it was almost a waste to teleport herself the few feet, but it was essential that she reach Starfire before Robin did.

Raven dropped into the portal and appeared again, an instant later, crouching in front of Starfire. Again reciting the words, she threw up a black barrier around both she and Starfire. She watched as Robin skidded to a halt and winced when he hit the wall with his fist, creating a delicate pattern of thin, white cracks. She assumed that he was acting on adrenaline and ignored the show of violence.

"Raven, what the hell are you doing?" Robin shouted, frustration and worry flowing out through his words. Through the wall, he could see her turn away from him and stare at Starfire critically.

"There isn't time. All of you be quiet." Her voice seemed to come from the wall instead of her, inside. Robin bit his tongue to silence all of the things he wanted to say back, telling himself that Raven knew how to help Starfire better than he did. Cyborg laid a hand on his shoulder, silently lending him strength. Beastboy had yet to move, watching the display with a blank expression.

Raven still did not dissipate the barrier. She turned her attention to Starfire, who was panting with a whimper now and then.

Something exploded. Again. A rush of water that tore across her ears followed each explosion and she was sure that they were bleeding. It took her a long minute to realize that the explosions were her own heartbeat.

"Starfire."

Her name, though spoken so softly, threatened to implode her head if she had to endure it much longer. As irrational as it was, everything was one volume, painful. But she recognized the voice, though magnified. She recognized the slightly scratchy sound of a voice not very used. It was Raven.

"Raven," she panted, "I need your help. Please." Her voice cracked and she pressed her hands harder to her ears. Suddenly, the skin on the center of her forehead began to burn harshly. She did not move or flinch, knowing that she was feeling the touch of another on her oversensitive skin. Tenderly, her own hand curled around Raven's wrist, feeding off of the power she offered. She knew what she had to do to make her body hers again. Her mind receded halfway into her subconscious.

Starfire opened her eyes, ignoring the near-blinding light she encountered. Her eyes locked onto Raven's and Raven looked back at her. Both knew exactly what was happening, the only two who did. Raven's eyes were questioning, but determined. 'Are you ready?' they asked. Starfire nodded and let her eyes slide closed. With some difficulty, she opened her mind to the force asking entrance. Everything went black, and the pain was gone.

Beastboy watched worriedly as the wall Raven had put up melted into nothing. Raven and Starfire were completely still, Raven with two fingers on the center of Starfire's forehead and Starfire with her hand around Raven's wrist. Both of their eyes were glowing with an eerie white light, though Starfire's was tinged with green while Raven's was tinged with blue. He approached the pair cautiously and reached for Raven's hair. He jerked his hand back though when he felt something like a bad static shock hit his finger.

Looking over his shoulder, Beastboy took in his two remaining conscious friends. "I guess we have to wait now, huh?" he asked, trying to sound calm and in-control. The two nodded dumbly, silence holding their voices.


Raven was completely still as she took in her surroundings. Knowing Starfire, she had always thought that her mind would be some field of flowers, or a forest clearing, or something utterly fluffy. Of course, she had overlooked the obvious.

She was in the palace, Starfire's home on Tamaran. The floor was made of large slabs of sapphire and green marble, swirled and mixed intricately, shining and freshly polished. The walls were a smooth, sanded, green stone. Everything was perfectly clean and in its own spot. The room radiated Starfire and her aura.

But it did not have a door.

Raven did not move. She stared hard at the room she was in, thinking hard about her visit to Tamaran. She had taken care to remember every aspect of the otherworldly visit, knowing that she probably would not get the chance again anytime soon. She could remember every detail, as if recorded in a picture, and the two pictures she compared did not match up.

Concentrating, Raven waved her hand, as if pointing out the flaws to someone else. Slowly, but with gaining speed, each of the things her eyes landed on changed, until she was left in a room totally different than the one she began with.

The floor, which was formerly so beautifully maintained, was cracked and scuffed and dulled beyond the ability to recognize it as marble. Some of the walls were knocked down completely, while the others bore deep fractures and craters. Tables and chairs were strewn everywhere, along with bits of scrap wood and a cotton-like material.

Raven was standing in a battlefield. The fact did not seem to influence her and she moved toward the largest hole in the wall, incidentally, the one closest to the door. She walked quickly and though her steps were light, they echoed in the broken, empty room.

"Starfire?" She took a chance and called out to her friend. This being her mind, Starfire would have gotten there a good five minutes before her, giving her time to have found the intruder in her mind and attack.

A shadow to her right caught Raven's attention and she spun, holding her hand in front of her, incased in black. "Who's there?" she asked clearly, keeping any emotions off of her face. She stared hard at the shadow cast by a large column, one of the few still in tact. She could see the eyes staring back at her. Deep, crystal blue eyes.

"You saw through the mask." A movement followed the statement. Slowly, a man stepped from the shadows, though Raven was not sure whether it could be described at that. Long, blue hair flowed from his head while a pair of triangular ears sprouted from the top of his scalp. A furry, blue tail protruded from his backside and hung down, a few inches of it heaping elegantly on the ground. The rest of his features left him looking like a tall, tanned, human male.

Raven stared at him silently, before nodding. "I did. Are you the one who has trespassed here?" The man smiled at her.

"That, I could ask you, but I will not. You are an ally, like me." He seemed completely sure of himself and her silence did not seem to affect him in the least. Raven wondered if this could be one of Starfire's emotions, maybe calm or serenity. It was unlikely. To have spilt emotions the way Raven did was something that was both hard to maintain and hard to initiate. People's emotions tended to want to mold together to be one identity and to keep them separate took a thorough knowledge of many spells and their theories. It was possible that Starfire could have done it, but Raven was sure she would have sensed such an amount of power in use.

"Where's Starfire?" Raven asked, lowering her hand. Whatever she was facing was a part of Starfire's mind, which meant that it knew where the conscious Starfire was. She had to find Starfire, hopefully, before Starfire found her intruder.

Her guide grinned, turned without a word, and began walking. Raven took this as a sign that he was going to lead her to Starfire. For a few seconds the walk was uneventful, until her guide began to change.

The ears on top of his head crawled down to normal placement and reshaped themselves. His tail faded and disappeared completely and he shrunk in stature to her height. His tanned skin paled to almost a gray color and his hair rose to about chin length. Subtlety, his features morphed from male to female and his clothes reshaped around him.

Raven stared in shock as she watched herself walk away. She stopped walking in her surprise. Her new twin turned and tapped her foot impatiently, her arms crossed in annoyance.

"What?" he(she?) asked, irritation evident in her voice. In his transformation, he seemed to have taken on her persona as well as her looks. Raven promptly closed her mouth and shook her head, though her eyes were still wide. She wanted to ask a question, but she did not have time. She began walking again and her clone turned and led the way.

The pair was walking for a good five minutes and in that time Raven had time to wonder if her cape really made her shoulders look so wide, while her mirror image took the time to become Robin, Galifore, a Tamaranian looking male, Beastboy, and Cyborg, and start all over again. He was striding along in Robin's form when the sounds of explosions began echoing along to them. Raven's senses sharpened and she took to the air, flying out in front of the incredible changing guy.

Raven turned the corner and was suddenly confronted with a fierce battle. The green energy blasts that Raven associated with Starfire were flying toward one end of the room, with Starfire flying around the other end.

Raven had seen Starfire furious before. It had not happen very many times, but once, when a guy at the supermarket grabbed her backside, the Titans got a taste of Starfire's rage. Strangely, this rage had never come out in battle. When Robin turned on them, when Slade held their lives in his hand, even when her sister and she fought, they had never seen this rage. But the moment someone violated her, she snapped. The guy was thrown clear to the other side of the store and Starfire was speaking five different languages for about an hour.

There, Raven watched Starfire become furious. Her eyes glowed a fierce green and tinged white and she shouted incomprehensibly in a language that Raven suspected was made up. Raven shook her head, hardly keeping the smile off of her face. After seeing Starfire crippled with pain, it was satisfying to see her fighting like she was the only one who could save herself.

Raven flew in beside her, pulling power into her hands. She watched in awe as Robin became the Tamaranian male and flew up beside them both.

"Starfire, I see you've found the intruder," she commented though her eyes lingered on the flying male beside her. Starfire's eyes closed briefly as she regained enough calm to speak understandable English.

"Yes, I believe he is almost ready to leave," she growled. She gave the other Tamaranian a meaningful look and he flew down, into the smoke. A few seconds later, he emerged, holding an unhealthily thin man by his collar. The man was humanoid, with bloodshot eyes and thin, pasty skin. He wrung his thin, bony hands nervously and his eyes darted to all corners of the room. Starfire flew forward, glaring down menacingly at the pasty man. He seemed to shrink under her fuming gaze.

"Ah, your…" he paused to swallow nosily. "Loveliness," he panted. "How long has it been? Are you going to give me a hug, hmm?" He had a high, whining voice that immediately made Raven want to back up. Starfire snarled.

"I see you are much more complimenting now that you have no power. You should have known better, seeing as I was taught by the best." She floated all around him, surveying him from every angle, while the morpher alternated between the Tamaranian, Raven, and the dog-man. Raven supposed that these were the only forms he had that flew.

"I come with a message, your wrathfulness," he whimpered. Starfire glowered down at him.

"Which would be?"

"Your great and powerful birth giver and sustainer requests a meeting," he said in a rush. Starfire's eyes blazed with emerald fire and she lunged at him. Luckily, the morpher backed up a few feet clearing its throat. Raven did the same, touching Starfire's arm. This seemed to remind her of Raven's presence.

"The great and powerful— such complete— Ella es como gran y poderosa como la suciedad que mancha el palacio que ella destruyó!" Starfire hissed. Raven blinked, wondering when Starfire learned Spanish. She pushed the thought away, just thankful that she was calm enough to keep her sentences in one language.

"Her powerfulness realizes that you are busy with your," he sent his shifty gaze toward Raven before his eyes darted back to Starfire, "friends and would be happy to come to you in your home."

Starfire's eyes narrowed dangerously and she grabbed him away from the morpher. "Get out, now," she growled and dropped him. He fell a few feet before blinking out of view. Raven felt his presence vanish with him and breathed a sigh of relief. She shot Starfire a sideways glance.

"Didn't look like you needed me that much, huh?" she asked. Starfire, who had been massaging her temples in irritation, looked over at her in surprise.

"No no, Raven. I do not think I could have come here without your help," she said, gesturing to the palace. "I usually come here only in my dreams. I have never come here without going to sleep first. It is quite a strange feeling." Raven nodded.

"It can be. Can you answer a question, though?" Starfire looked at her warily.

"Maybe," she answered carefully. Raven gestured at the fake Robin who was watching them both with an almost hidden smile.

"What is that?"

Starfire studied him carefully. She was never really sure how or when that had come to her mind, but she did know that it only took the shape of a few select people. It had not been there her whole life, but well before she came to the titans. It was very protective of her though. Whenever she found herself in her mind when she slept she would find him and tell him about her days, her fears, her hopes. It would always tell her to stay there, with him, away from all of the negativity.

"That is my guardian. It takes the form of those who would protect me," she said. Raven seemed to accept that answer. They watched him become a few different people before Starfire cleared her throat. "We need to leave. The boys will be worried for us." She felt a twinge of guilt, but immediately pushed it away. She knew that she would really feel it later, but she had no time now. She had too many things to do and too little time to do it in. A thousand plans and tactics were already playing themselves out in her head. Risks, probabilities, all of them presented themselves and moved to the back of her mind. She was analyzing the best way to get what she wanted. It was almost too easy to do it. That was what she hated.

Almost two years she had not had to use that part of her mind, but the moment she had to it was back and working like she had never stopped. The moment it became necessary, she became who she was before the Titans. She had secretly praised herself for shedding the mindset of a warrior princess and acquiring one of a decent individual, one whose manipulative skills were lacking because they hardly ever used them. She had always wanted to be someone like that. She had never wanted to be the person she was.

When she arrived on Earth, she saw her chance. It was her chance to be someone else. The people there had never known her, and what was more, never asked about her past. On Earth, she could be anything. She could be anyone. She did not have to be what she was.

She thought she had changed.

"Yeah," Raven answered. She ignored the gentle nudge she felt in the back of her mind, meaning that Starfire wanted her out, whether she was aware of it or not. Starfire did not meet her eyes, but instead stared at the ground, as if deep in thought. "I'll make a way for you too," she added before her eyes slid closed. She lifted her arms to her sides and then out in front of her. Her finger twitched once before a thin, white-blue disk appeared before her.

Raven looked up at Starfire once more, only to see soft disappointment replace the normal cheerful glow. She let her eyes linger on her friend as her fingers barely grazed the disk and transported her through the portal into reality.

If she had stayed for only a minute longer, she would have seen Starfire's guardian morph once more, into a new form, one it had not assumed in years. Starfire watched with mixed feelings as a younger, thinner, battle-scared, and ruthless form of herself watched her with contempt and suspicion.


Their eyes went out. Cyborg was not sure whether he liked that result or not, but it was the most excitement the three boys had seen in the last five minutes. They all had been sitting, ever so silently, since the wall Raven had put up went down. No one moved and no one spoke, although some fly somewhere in the room did not seem to have picked up the somber mood. The stupid thing was just buzzing away, so happy to be alive. How could it not see the two people sitting right in the middle of the room who had ceased any and all movement for an entire five minutes? They did not even seem to breath they were so still. And that damn fly just kept buzzing.

Robin flinched as the stupid thing flew into his left temple. It flew into the same spot again.

And again.

And again.

With a quiet grunt, Robin tried to grab the idiot insect but it zoomed away, swerving drunkenly. He tried to follow it with his eyes, watching for if it came back, but he lost in the shadows of the couch. He settled back into his spot grudgingly. His eyes went back to monitoring his two teammates for any sign of movement, though this activity had been in vain for the last few minutes since he started. His nerves were tight and he had no idea how much longer he could take— THAT GOD-DAMN FLY AGAIN!

Again, it hit the exact same spot. Counting to ten, Robin hoped that the brain-dead fly would just buzz away like any other crushable being, but again, it seemed to want to force its way into his brain. Again. And another time for good measure.

Buuzzzz—Ptt.

Buuzzzz—Ptt.

Robin breathed deeply, determined not to let this insignificant bug push him over the edge(PTT!). He was the leader of the Teen Titans(PTT!). His team depended on him to be collected at all times(PTTPTT!), not just when times where rough(PTT!). He would not be broken by some idiotic fl—

SLAP!

Robin clutched the side of his face, more in surprise than pain. Beastboy stood over him with his head bowed in irritation, his hand poised for another attack on the offensive creature. Robin jumped up and tried to hit him back but he ducked, oblivious, but looking for the fly.

"What on Earth did you hit me for?" Robin snarled. Beastboy, who remained unaware to his anger, kept looking for the fly.

"Stupid fly was driving me crazy!" he exclaimed. A vein pounded on Robin's forehead, but he tried to contain his anger.

"Did you at least get it?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Buuzzzz—Ptt.

"…" Robin stood completely silent, desperately hoping that something, anything would happen to relieve the tension in his muscles before they twitched and ended up with his hands around Beastboy's neck. His prayers seemed to be answer, though not in his ideal way.

The lights that had replaced the two female Titans' eyes snapped off and were replaced by the delicate skin of their eyelids.

"Hey, they stopped glowing!" Cyborg exclaimed, coming closer to the pair. Robin's head snapped up, just as he heard Starfire gasp. He watched as her eyes flew open and she lost her balance, falling back on her backside, not for the first time that day. Raven smirked, despite herself.

"Sorry. It can be a little disorientating the first time," she said, offering Starfire her hand. Starfire took it, this time, having no time to think of her bruised dignity(or butt). Once she was on her feet, she looked up at each of her friends before her gaze came to rest on Robin. Of all of them, he would be the one she needed to concentrate on the most. The others would trust her with little to no persuasion. Robin, however, was exponentially more protective. After what he had seen, he was not going to let her go anywhere until he had an explanation, something she could not give him just yet. Sighing, she began her task.

"Listen to me, quickly, I must go to meet someone and you must let me go alone," she said, stepping forward and looking mostly at Robin. As she had expected, Robin frowned immediately and opened his mouth to protest. She did not expect for Cyborg to be the one to beat him to it.

"After what we just saw? All of that and you want to go off by yourself? Sorry, but I don't think we can do that," he said, crossing his arms. Starfire looked at him, surprised. Honestly, she had expected him to be the most supportive of her declaration.

"Please, do not do this," she pleaded, hoping that she may not have to lie to them this time. "I am," she paused looking away from all eye contact, "sure that you will know everything soon, perhaps even more than I would have you know, but now I need you to trust me just a little longer." Trust. That had been one of the keys to her freedom. None of her friends wanted to be accused of not trusting her and she knew it. She added another few pangs of guilt to the reserve she was to feel later.

"Starfire, this isn't about us trusting you. This is about you trusting us. What are you hiding and why are you hiding it from us?" Robin asked. Starfire looked up in shock. Robin was not supposed to see her secrets. He was not supposed to sense the half of the truth that she was leaving out. Her frustration began to show through.

"Listen to me," she said, and edge to her voice. "My life is not the one at danger here. If I do not go, alone, without you, then innocent people will be hurt. People who have nothing to do with what I need to do." She did not tell them the names of these innocents. She left out the fact that those in danger were in her presence at that moment.

Robin opened his mouth to protest once more, and once more he was interrupted, this time by Raven.

"Let her go," she stated. Her eyes pierced Starfire for a moment before she turned to look at Robin. "We can't keep her here anyway."

Robin gritted his teeth. With Raven against him he could almost feel himself loosing that battle. On one level, he had a feeling that he had to let her go. Something was telling him that letting her go would be more beneficial that keeping her, but his protective side wanted to keep her in his sight.

Starfire stepped forward, not wanting to waste Raven's words. "I have my communicator. You have my frequency. Give me two hours and if I have not returned, I will need you to follow my signal." She looked into his eyes for a moment. The statement was meant to reassure him. She was not running away from anyone.

She quickly took to the air, before anyone could stop her. Within minutes she was gone, leaving behind a tense silence.

"Cyborg, pull up her signal and track it," Raven said, as soon as she saw Starfire out of the window. It looked like she was headed toward the city, but Raven did not want to follow her too soon.

"Why? You were just saying that we needed to let her go," Cyborg questioned with a scowl. Raven gazed back at him stoically.

"We do. If we had kept her here we would not have learned anything. She's going to meet someone and we're going to follow her. It's the only way we're going to at least start getting answers," Raven replied. "So get her signal before she gets too far away."


Starfire finally came to a stop in a small clearing in the forest. She had taken great pains to be sure that the spot she picked was far from the city limits. She hoped that the distance was enough to keep the ones she was here to see from thinking of damaging the town. It had certainly been through enough traumas without her bringing her past into the mix.

Starfire almost snorted. How ironic that the place that she used to run from her past now needed her protection from it. She found that it was not the amusing kind of irony either. More the cruel kind that made you sick to your stomach. She was definitely feeling sick.

She stood still for a moment, listening to the sounds of the forest. The sun was only just beginning to set, but it would be dark soon. She had noticed that once the sun started to set, it did so quickly, almost too quickly for her tastes. She knew she would not meet anyone until the sun was at least half way down the horizon.

It was a cowardly tactic, but one she knew they would use. Her power was drawn from the rays of the sun and she was much more powerful during the day. Of course, they would not want to fight her while she was in her element, while she had even a chance at being powerful.

Starfire looked up, surveying the sky. The first few stars were beginning to peak out. She was expecting them in maybe ten minutes. When they would be sure that she was weakened. Starfire sighed and sat in her spot in the center of the clearing. She remained alert though. Sometimes it was more dangerous to fight a coward than someone brave. Cowards fought dirty.

Her mind was absolutely closed to any and all. The intrusion earlier had put her on edge and she had no intention of letting it happen again. She berated herself. Her guard had been down, something that she thought was up at all times. 'Although,' she reasoned with herself, 'it was not as if I had to protect myself from Raven. Over the years it was just wasted energy. They were not supposed to find me.' Starfire sighed. Funny how things were not working the way they were supposed to lately.

Starfire's eyes snapped upward as a whooshing sound caught her attention. She dived to the right, landing in a graceful roll and onto her feet. The space she had previously occupied exploded in a rush of heat and light. The hit would not have injured her, but it would have hurt.

Emerald power encompassed both of her hands and took over her eyes. Sure enough, she felt the last rays of the sun leave her skin and with it her sense of security. She would have appreciated any and all advantages, the sun being the first on her list. Or maybe second, coming after her friends at her side.

Starfire mentally shook her head. The sun had gone down and her friends were not there for the protection of their lives. 'Or is it the protection of your secrets? Perhaps, your sins? Maybe your shames?' a small voice, completely hers, asked in a rough voice. Starfire's eyes glowed brighter.

No matter the reason, she was on her own. She was to fight this battle herself, as she felt she should.

A swirl of darkness suddenly manifested itself before her, the black tendrils whipping around in a tornado, almost cutting her arm. She watched the isolated storm as it lessened in ferocity and from it stepped two forms. The first stepped forward straight and tall. Flaky white skin stretched thin over bones with little to no actual flesh. Taller than average, he gazed almost longingly at her with red, bloodshot eyes, no pupils in sight. His pale skin made his jet-black eyebrows look almost sharp. He was clothed in a thick, black, velvet material very much like a robe. Black boots barely were visible under the long garment. His hands poked out of the black material, clasped together in front of him almost nobly.

This man stepped forward a few steps, but another immediately moved in front of him. Starfire scowled deeply, a profound hatred balling in the pit of her stomach as the figure took shape.

She was a tall shapely woman, holding a good two inches on Starfire. Her curves were accentuated with the black skin-tight shirt with soft black pants to match. Her sleeves were made of a sheer material that draped regally from her arms, showing off the orange-tinted tanned skin, characteristic of most Tamaranians. Her scarlet hair cascaded over her shoulders in waves and she smirked at Starfire with darkly gleaming indigo eyes which Starfire had to convince herself were not black. Her stance, her eyes, everything about her radiated a playful sensuality which never hinted at the immense power or black soul Starfire knew was there.

The woman smirked playfully at her. "What a reunion, you see Xuun? My long lost baby. Dear child, what did I tell you about wandering away from my side at the market?" her silky voice almost purred out. Her voice was soft and voluptuous, with an edge of danger, the epitome of femininity. Starfire knew of many who had fallen pray to that voice, to those eyes. The ball in her stomach clenched.

"Quickly, quietly, and never look back?" Starfire answered, her voice thick with a Tamaranian accent. A soft chuckle floated to her on the cool night air.

"Hostile as ever. I suppose I may always count on you. However, is a hug just too much to ask?" she asked with a mocking smile. Starfire snarled.

"It is. I doubt my skin could withstand the sting of a traitor, a murderer, a torturer, let alone all three at once," she snapped. The light smile from the older woman dimmed some and her eyes flashed.

"Have it your way," she said, raising her hands. Around them appeared a pool of pearly fire. Her eyes reflected the pure glow. "Pleasantries aside, answer me a question."

Starfire dropped into a fighting stance and pulled one of her hands back, ready to fire a projectile forward. Her other hand rose, ready to shoot one straight if she decided to surprise her. "Would it really be worth it?" Starfire asked quietly.

"How close can I bring you to death, without you actually leaving us? I plan on having that pleasure later. Sweet child, exactly how much can you take?" Starfire clenched her jaw, but remained silent. For once, the smirk completely departed the lovely woman's face.

"No matter, I will find out myself" And with that statement, the vixen released a flurry of white-hot fire. Starfire watched motionless as the wall of fire burned toward her and she tilted her head back. She quickly came to the conclusion that irony was her new recipient of her eternal hatred.


cool. Um. Not much to say here... the next chapter will intoduce my OC. So watch for that. Please review... bye!